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Updated: May 28, 2026

Probing the Structure and Dynamics of Interfacial Water with Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Spectroscopy
Published on: May 27, 2018
Impact of Hydrophilic Surfaces on Interfacial Water Dynamics Probed with NMR Spectroscopy
Hyok Yoo1, Rajan Paranji, Gerald H Pollack
1Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, United States.
Abstract:
In suspensions of Nafion beads and of cationic gel beads, NMR spectroscopy showed two water-proton resonances, one representing intimate water layers next to the polymer surface, the other corresponding to water lying beyond. Both resonances show notably shorter spin-lattice relaxation times (T1) and smaller self-diffusion coefficients (D) indicating slower dynamics than bulk water. These findings confirm the existence of highly restricted water layers adsorbed onto hydrophilic surfaces and dynamically stable water beyond the first hydration layers. Thus, aqueous regions on the order of micrometers are dynamically different from bulk water.
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